The Evolution of the Ride Cymbal Pattern from 1917 to 1941: An Historical and Critical Analysis Page: 2

                                
research concludes with the jam sessions of the early 1940s at Minton's Playhouse,
where the pioneer of bebop drumming, Kenny Clarke, experimented with altering the
pattern. At this point, the pattern reached its final level of maturity and has since
experienced no subsequent major modification.
Theodore Dennis Brown's 1976 dissertation entitled "A History and Analysis of
Jazz Drumming to 1942"1 has been the most in-depth account in the development of
what is known as the "ride cymbal pattern." Brown discusses the evolution of drumset
playing and drumset players from its inception through bebop. Brown also analyzes the
instrument as a whole, which differs from my research which focuses solely on the
pattern. In addition, Anthony Brown's dissertation entitled "The Development of Modern
Jazz Drumset Performance, 1940-1950"2 begins where my research concludes but
provides insightful academic research on the pattern. A. Brown goes deeper into how
the players interpreted the pattern in the bebop era. Both of these are important
resources for understanding the pattern, yet neither of them feature in-depth research
regarding historical and geographic considerations or exclusively devoted their entire
research to the pattern itself. This study does just that.
Numerous examples of the pattern that I have discovered are from the late
1920s. This is the generally accepted time frame that the pattern was introduced on the
free-standing small cymbal. The earliest recording of the pattern that I have been able
to locate being played on a small cymbal was by Chauncey Morehouse on "Clarinet
1 Theodore Dennis Brown. "A History and Analysis of Jazz Drumming to 1942" (PhD diss., University of
Michigan, 1976), 308-400.
2 Anthony Brown: "The Development of Modern Jazz Drumset Performance, 1940-1950" (PhD diss.,
University of California, Berkeley, 1997).

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